We’re so close. After 17 months of renovations, we were planning to spend our first night in the house this weekend. So many things are happening at the last minute that it’s difficult to know if we will be able to do that. One of the big tasks left is that the floors have to be sealed, and we don’t want to move a bunch of stuff in that would then need to be moved for the floor sealing.
And it would be helpful to have stairs.
Last week the old stairs from the 1st floor to the attic were removed. The stair crew kept as much of the beautiful old oak as they could so we can use it for something. Then they showed up with the new stairs and got to work.
And then they stopped. On Friday they showed up for an hour, collected their tools, and left. OK, so maybe they were just going for a long weekend? Then Monday arrived, but they didn’t. We now have a floor of the house that isn’t quite finished and our crew can’t get up there to do any work. Even going up to the 1st floor (2nd to Americans) is a bit tricky, as you can’t touch that precariously-placed railing that is perched on the crossbeam. All of the stair parts are stacked neatly in our lounge on the 1st floor. Finally, on Wednesday, a crew showed up and made a lot of fuss, going up and down and measuring with lasers, but as of yesterday, it looks exactly the same as in the above photos.
There’s movement in the electrical department.
At long last, EDF showed up to assess the work that needs to be done. They said our electrician must pull some wires through one of the big columns at our gate before EDF can do their work, and asked that a photo be sent in to prove the work had been completed before they would schedule their part of the work. The photo was sent in yesterday, so now we wait, again.
Moving out and stressing out.
We must vacate the house we’ve been renting and have arranged for a moving company on Saturday. It’s looking like we may have to move everything into our new bedroom, as that seems to be the only room that might be able to hold it at this point (and the floor there is still not sealed). All the rest of our possessions will remain in storage units nearby until the house is further along.
Last night I received a call from the moving company. The man said they wanted to do our move today instead of tomorrow. Really? I said that is not possible. He was pretty insistent, saying their truck was already in our area. I said the move was absolutely not going to happen today. He was not happy, but said he’d call me back today with an update. So now we have an irritated moving man.
I’m a pretty calm person and it takes a lot to stress me out. This may be one of those times.
Last weekend we took a break and went to a brocante.
The monthly brocante in Chinon, about an hour from here, was a welcome distraction. Strolling under a canopy of huge trees along a river was just what we needed. We wanted to buy this old light fixture but the seller wouldn’t budge on his price. I’m regretting not getting it anyway. It would have looked good way up high above the (missing) staircase in the attic landing.
Wish us luck.
Somehow the stars have to align so that we can move out, move in, and make some livable space in a portion of the house.
We were hoping to move in last week, but this is France, and things often don’t go according to schedule. There is a lot happening at the house. One day last week, there were 11 people working there. A few big things, however, have been delayed. We thought the power company, EDF, was ignoring our request, submitted months ago, to update and move our main power box. It seems everybody is using
Meanwhile, the house we are renting has been committed to a new tenant, so we have agreed to vacate by November 1. No pressure.
The floors are almost done.
On the ground floor, the travertine is all in and it looks great.
Upstairs, the bathroom floor tile has a very faint stripe in the background, which the installer hadn’t noticed. Fortunately, I was able to point that out before the grouting was done. This is why I am at the house every day.
It looks much better now. The wall tile is finished, and the first of our wall-mounted toilets
In the attic, not much left to do.
The tomettes have been acid-washed and now just need to be sealed. The painting is almost done in there.
The stairs to the attic are in pretty bad shape so will have to be replaced. The stair man said they would install the new stairs “probably” this week, which really means next week, or in two months.
Back downstairs, plastering and painting are happening.
In the new bedroom addition, the ceilings are 12 ft so the plasterer needed some vertical help.
And now that room is painted and ready for light fixtures.
Our Ikea closet modules have been assembled. This is a huge closet by French standards, and it is much appreciated by us happy Americans.
The kitchen is starting to look like a kitchen.
We decided not to have any upper cabinets,
And we’ll leave the pretty stone walls unencumbered on this side. (And yes, those outlets are too high, but that seems to be the way it’s
Focus on the fireplaces.
The original house had four fireplaces. Over the years, all but one, in the upstairs bedroom, had been covered by plasterboard. It’s a pretty fireplace and will remain as a feature, but will not be used. (Who wants to carry firewood up the stairs in winter? Not us.) The rest of the fireplaces were uncovered and considered for use, but two of them weren’t worth keeping: the kitchen fireplace has now been completely removed, and the one in the upstairs lounge has been recovered with plasterboard. The best of them all was the living room fireplace. It has gone through quite a transformation.
A fireplace was hiding under that wallpaper. 
Now it can breathe again. 
Giant stone corbels were ordered. 
The corbels are being inserted. 
Corbels in, and the oak mantel too. A woodburner will be installed soon.
The outside area will soon be underway.
This area along the front of the house will be tiled. 
The courtyard will be full of flowerbeds. 
And the backyard will be grass and a few planting areas.
Almost there.
We’ve managed to endure 17 months of full-time renovations without too many ouches. The work is almost done, although no area is completely finished. The end is in sight and we are so ready to begin life in this grand house.
